This section will be devoted to recipes that my fellow backpackers and I love to eat at home, and have tested and chosen as winners for dehydrating to bring along on the trail. Please pass along your favorites to be included here!

To get to the recipes, go up to the top of this page and click on Backpacking Skills, Planning and Food Prep, then scroll down to the ‘What’s for dinner? Tried and true comfort foods adapted…” section. To the right a list of recipes will come up. You can click on any of those to find the ingredient list, instructions for preparation of the meal at home, and how to dehydrate it and then rehydrate it at camp. Or use the direct links below. Check back for new recipes over time.

I’m interested in how these recipes turn out for you, suggestions to improve them, and also your own comfort food recipes that you’ve successfully adapted for the trail. Good luck and happy eating!

Hi Cheryl
I got here via the Seattle magazine too. These recipes are very interesting – thanks for sharing them. In that article you said “And no pot-scrubbing!” .. I’m not altogether clear on the rehydration method here. Are you boiling the water and then pouring it directly into the ziplock bag? If so, aren’t you worried about releasing chemicals from the plastic?

Hi Jerry! I’m so glad that the recipes are of interest! If rehydrating right in the zip-loc bag is a concern for you, you can put the dehydrated food into your mug or pot and rehydrate in there instead. But because you aren’t actually cooking the substance in your pot over a flame, nothing will stick so you don’t have to do any scrubbing – a simple rinse with a little leftover boiling water will take care of the cleanup.

If you read the details for ZipLoc freezer bags they are also quite clearly BPA and Dioxin free and FDA approved to use with hot foods, even in the microwave. But if you like the packit gourmet bag, it certainly looks like a solid way to go. I have gone away from rehydrating in any bag anymore because it’s a mess to eat out of and leaves a sloppy bag to carry out in my trash. Now I empty the dehydrated food serving into my mug and rehydrate in there. Then I just have the superlight, clean Ziploc bag to fold up and bring home to rinse and re-use.

I hope that some of these recipes turn out good for you – please do share some of your favorites from your own kitchen if you have time!